Yes, receiving Holy Spirit baptism shows wisdom as things get rough near the end. Baptism in the Holy Spirit has always been the wise thing to do. But as things get more chaotic, this power becomes required.
Virtually, everything in the life of a believer needs the Holy Spirit. You can’t even get saved unless the Holy Spirit draws you in. What many do not realize is that the Lord, through His Holy Spirit, offers tools and gifts to help. Don’t be confused. The three parts of Almighty God work fluidly together. It’s never one or the other.
The Holy Spirit is that portion of God within us
We cannot separate them. Sometimes, it feels like I’m talking to Jesus within me, or praying to the Father in Jesus’ name within myself. Yet, I find it helpful to see [all of that as] the Holy Spirit within using simultaneous communication with all of God in His omnipresence. If you’re still not settled on that, ask the Lord how He wants you to understand that. He does create a unique path for each of us to follow.
Yet, there are two levels of the Lord’s presence which depend upon our permission. When you met Him, you responded to the urging or conviction of the Holy Spirit. You repented and asked Him to forgive your sins—then asking Him to come into your life as Lord and Savior. You had to ask. He responded positively and caused you to be born a second time—of God. Your birth from the water of your mother’s womb gave you a sin nature. You responded by sinning. Everyone but Jesus does that. But then you rejected that fallen nature—seeking to become part of the Kingdom of God.
The entry point of that Kingdom is birth. You are born a second time, by the power of Almighty God, into the Kingdom. That power comes through and by the Holy Spirit. Your life transforms into your new creation. The power of the blood of Jesus makes it possible, and some believe that this even makes subtle changes to your blood type and DNA. That wouldn’t surprise me. The transformation is greater than caterpillar to butterfly. We just can’t see it in the flesh. If this hasn’t happened to you yet, click here. But, there’s so much more.
Receiving Holy Spirit baptism shows wisdom if you ask
We saw this at Pentecost. A group of 120 scared, probably terrified, believers in Jesus had been asking for power. Jesus told them to do that. “He commanded them, “Do not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, of which you have heard from Me. For John baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” [Acts 1: 4-5 MEV] On the day of the Feast of Pentecost, they received that baptism of the Holy Spirit which Jesus promised.
Peter was transformed from that fleshly braggart, who denied him three times, into an anointed preacher which allowed the Holy Spirit to harvest about 3,000 believers that blessed morning. You need to understand this foundational knowledge, the Baptism of the Holy Spirit gives you power. I would wear out this keyboard before I could share all the amazing works of power done by the Holy Spirit since that day. It’s wisdom to realize that you need this power to do anything in the Lord.
Scripture tells us the Spirit will be poured out in the both the early and the later rain. The early period of power lasted a century or two before it was allowed to fizzle out by the religious decisions of the church. The later rain started toward the end of the 19th century and has grown to something even larger throughout the 20th, and now the 21st, centuries. Now, with the COVID-19 pandemic getting people’s attention, this latter rain has become a gully washer throughout the world. Even in apostate America we are seeing revivals all over the States.
But you must ask Him for this power
Jesus is not going to force it upon you. He is loving, patient, kind, long-suffering, and all the attributes listed in Galatians 5 and I Corinthians 13. You do need to ask for it, but he will work in you to give you a testimony you’ll be enthusiastic to share. I know that normally people ask in a church service, Bible study, or meeting. After asking the Lord to baptize you in the Holy Spirit, you go to another believer asking him or her to lay hands on you to receive the Holy Spirit. But, the Lord is far too creative to be limited by that religious model. He might meet you and fill you in your prayer time. He might waken you in the middle of the night gloriously filled with His Holy Spirit. His only restriction is the requirement that you ask Him for it. That’s the only requirement on your part. He may respond immediately, overnight, in a few days, or [like in my case] after a couple of months [as I was walking home from work on a frigid winter afternoon while singing to Him].
If you’ve asked, you got it. Get ready. You’ll know when it happens and your life will be changed.